Guardian provides forum for Palestinian terrorist Samer al-Issawi

Samer al-Issawi is a Palestinian who was arrested in April 2002 and sentenced to 26 years for attempted murder, belonging to a terror organization (Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine), and possession of weapons, arms and explosive materials. His terror activities included firing a gun at Israeli civilians, indiscriminately firing an assault rifle at civilian buses, and manufacturing and distributing pipe bombs used in attacks on Israeli civilians.

Issawi was one of the Palestinian prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in October 2011, but was re-arrested in July 2102 for reportedly violating one of the conditions of his release.

Issawi has been on an intermittent hunger strike since shortly after his re-arrest – which has garnered sympathetic coverage from radical NGO’s, the Guardian, and somemainstreamnewsoutlets – and is currently being treated at an Israeli hospital.

The piece, by Issawi or whomever wrote it on his behalf and successfully submitted it to CiF editors, represents an effort to humanize and normalize such terrorist ‘activism’, casting those who would attack civilians as ordinary, even righteous, political actors.

The piece begins with the suggestion that Issawi’s “story” is really “no different from that of many other Palestinian young people”, and notes that the ‘hunger striking’ convicted terrorist is merely following in the tradition of ‘resistance’ charted by his grandfather and several of his siblings.

After explaining that the hunger strike was launched to protest against Issawi’s “illegal imprisonment”, Issawi or his sponsor, clearly understanding the dynamics of Western guilt, directs a demopathic appeal in the most theatrical and maudlin manner:

My health has deteriorated greatly, but I will continue my hunger strike until victory or martyrdom. This is my last remaining stone to throw at the tyrants and jailers in the face of the racist occupation that humiliates our people.

I draw my strength from all the free people in the world who want an end to the Israeli occupation. My weak heartbeat endures thanks to this solidarity and support; my weak voice gains its strength from voices that are louder, and can penetrate the prison walls.

My battle is not just for my own freedom. My fellow hunger strikers, Ayman, Tarik and Ja’afar, and I are fighting a battle for all Palestinians against the Israeli occupation and its prisons. What I endure is little compared to the sacrifice of Palestinians in Gaza, where thousands have died or been injured as a result of brutal Israeli attacks and an unprecedented and inhuman siege.

Issawi fancies himself selfless, a ‘freedom fighter’, a martyr, an anti-racist doing battle with the dark forces of Zionist tyranny.

Now the political appeal:

However, more support is needed. Israel could not continue its oppression without the support of western governments. These governments, particularly the British, which has a historic responsibility for the tragedy of my people, should impose sanctions on the Israeli regime until it ends the occupation, recognises Palestinian rights, and frees all Palestinian political prisoners.

Issawi is asking “particularly” the British, whose brief felicity to the idea that Jews’ desire to re-establish their historic homeland should be honored renders so many vulnerable to the emotional pull of such political charlatanism, to pay penance by consigning the Jewish state to isolation until such time as all Palestinian “political prisoners” – an expansive definition of which includes those denied the ‘right’ to launch deadly projectiles at innocents – be freed.

Issawi’s ‘jailhouse letter’ at ‘Comment is Free’ represents not only another example of the Guardian Left’s inability to see past even the most risible charades of post-colonialism and anti-imperialism, but also what can only be described as a fetishization towards political violence which continues to make a mockery of every value the true left has historically embraced.

Of course not, it was saying the Zionists are doing very similar to what the Fascists or NS were doing in Germany. I said nothing about the Germans or the Jews. Perhaps you find it difficult to those who do wrong and faith or ethnic group they belong to. Surely, that failure to recognize those who do evil and their ethnicity is the basis of racism.

“Zionists are doing very similar to what the Fascists or NS were doing in Germany.”

Do you REALLY believe that crap, Tracey? Really? Where is the mass extermination? Where are the forced labour camps? Where are the gas chambers? Where are the cattle trucks stuffed with Palestinians? Where are the forced marches? Where are the ghettos full of death and disease? Where is the medical experimentation? Where is the forced sterilisation? Where are the laws forbidding property ownership/voting/inter-marriage etc? Where is the forced wearing of yellow stars/green crescents? Where are the mosque and Koran burnings? I could go on, but I think even you might have got the point by now.

I repeat myself I am not comparing the Jews with NS or Germans with Zionists – Perhaps you did not understand the sentence properly. Is it clear now? I do not blame the ethnic group for the crimes committed by those who might belong to the ethnic group. Where that crime is related to an ideology, like NS or Zionism I blame those ideologies not the ethnic groups those ideologies claim to represent. Is that clear?

Zionism is defines Jewish self determination. NS is the opposite, the extermination of Jews.
It is clear that you equate NS and Zionism, downright nazi thinker.
Your Orwellian mode doesn`t work here.
Go back to your undereducated audience you are used to.

But Alexa do you not hate the NS? I assume it is because they are fascist and not because they were Germans? I hate the Zionists for their racism and not because they are Jews. I hate racist irrespective of their ethnicity. Don’t you? I hate them because of their racism.

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s ambassador to the United States said Tuesday that any future Palestinian state it seeks with help from the United Nations and the United States should be free of Jews.
Do you hate him as well Tracy?

Alexa – this is exactly the reason why I think the only viable solution is one state open to all living within historical Palestine.

I am against racism, whether from the Palestinian Ambassador or the Zionist regime that occupies Palestine.

The only genuinely anti-racist resolution of the conflict is a single state with equal rights for all anything else is a hogwash. All anti-racists should support such a demand and a state. I assume as anti-racist you will agree with me.

Remember South Africa – racism came to an end at least an institutional level – so this will also come to pass – already the signs are there even within Israel – First we had the Jewish Historians, including Benny Morris, who acknowledged the wrong done to the Palestinians. In the Outside side world Zionist became critical of the racist nature of the state and many among them now support the Palestinian demand for justice.

The sign are there? which just prove you know nothing about Israel. Ever watch Benny Morris youtube “Did the Zionists Ethnically Cleanse Palestine from Arabs?” He says : When looking at Israeli internal documents we clearly find that (In accordance with original Zionistic principals) there was NO Jewish institutional policy of expelling the Arabs.